It is indeed commendable that vehicle and after-treatment manufacturers as well as the oil industry achieved the target of BS-VI after making huge investments in the Indian manufacturing infrastructure, opines Sudipto Basu, Executive Director, Emission Controls Manufacturers Association (ECMA)
It has been more than a year since India adopted the BS-VI emission norms for automotive exhaust and now it is perhaps a good time to look back and review what has been done and what ought not to be done! We have, in the meanwhile, been overtaken by a pandemic that, during its lockdown phase, brought to a standstill all economic activity. As a result, the automotive industry as well as related suppliers such as the after-treatment industry was severely affected. This aside, the achievement of rolling out BS-VI in a short span of time was a stupendous one.
And it is indeed commendable that vehicle and after-treatment manufacturers as well as the oil industry achieved the target after making huge investments in the Indian manufacturing infrastructure. These investments made especially by the after-treatment system manufacturers needs elaboration. After-treatment systems comprise basically of substrates, precious metal coating and the can or packaging that holds the converter in place and allows fitment on the vehicle. The jump from BS-IV to BS-VI required major changes in all the three segments.
The need for particulate filters, selective catalyst reduction (SCR) and lean NOx trap (LNT) required that the industry get in these new technologies for local manufacture and set up the needed infrastructure. In addition, the typical Indian driving conditions as well as specific applications such as two and three-wheelers with their emphasis on fuel efficiency has required costly development work, specifically for the Indian market.
For any investment in infrastructure, sustainability demands that the huge amounts of finances that are locked in can be amortized by the manufacture of products that are forecast by market projections. Changing this means that sustainability and investments are at risk. The after-treatment industry represented by ECMA has taken up this challenge too so as to enable a self-reliant India implementing the ‘Make in India’ policy of the government. There is now pressure from various quarters quoting the pandemic effect to push back the emission norms that have enabled society to experience the advantages from a clean environment. In ECMA’s opinion, pandering to this pressure would be a huge step backward.